Dental Hygienist

Barnabas Center•Fernandina Beach, FL

7d•Onsite

About The Position

The Dental Hygienist works independently or alongside dentists and other dental professionals to provide comprehensive oral healthcare. The role provides patient-specific preventive and educational services to promote and maintain good oral health. Its major focus is periodontal therapy, including periodontal debridement, prophylaxis, and periodontal maintenance for patients with periodontal disease. The position prepares and maintains the hygiene room and equipment, reviews patient records and histories, assesses and documents oral and periodontal health, provides prophylaxis and other indicated procedures, takes prescribed radiographs, and educates patients about home care. The Hygienist communicates with patients and the dental team, documents treatment, coordinates return visits, and supports instrument cleaning, packaging, and sterilization while complying with OSHA regulations and recommendations. This is a full-time position working 28 hours per week, with scheduled work Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required as job duties demand. No travel is expected. The position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Requirements

Registered Dental Hygienist with an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Dental Hygiene from an accredited college or university.
One year of dental hygiene experience.
State of Florida Dental Hygiene License.
Follow protocols for a wide variety of procedures and duties.
Knowledge of dental terminology and common laboratory and dental procedures.
Knowledge of HIPAA and ability to maintain patient confidentiality.
Ability to consistently follow universal precautions and handle biohazards.
Basic life support ability to respond to life-threatening situations such as heart attacks or choking.
Ability to maintain effective, organized systems that support timely patient flow.
Maintain courtesy, ethics, and cooperation when working with diverse coworkers, patients, and visitors.
Think critically and perform duties during emergency situations.
Ability to meet the physical demands of the role, including prolonged sitting, occasional crouching and repetitive motions, instrument grasping, moving supplies or equipment, and frequent or constant standing, walking, reaching, stooping, and use of fingers and hands.
Ability to communicate clearly with patients, coworkers, dentists, and physicians; hear sounds at normal range; read and interpret directions; prepare written documents; use computer terminals; and visually assess radiographs and oral tissues.

Responsibilities

Check the hygiene room for cleanliness, make necessary changes, check and turn on equipment, and clean the room and turn off equipment at the end of the day.
Maintain hygiene equipment, including the prophy jet and ultrasonic equipment.
Submit supply orders as necessary.
Coordinate with the receptionist to schedule hygiene patients efficiently.
Review patient charts before appointments and review and update patient medical and dental histories.
Accurately chart periodontal health and record observations from hard-tissue and oral cancer screening examinations.
Provide thorough, gentle prophylaxis; perform scaling, root planing, and selective polishing for designated patients.
Provide radiographs as prescribed by the dentist and sharpen instruments.
Educate patients and provide home-care instructions; communicate professionally and understandably, monitor patient comfort, and help alleviate anxiety.
Document treatment, record treatment needs at the doctor examination, ensure completion of treatment records, and enter treatment in the computer.
Record new-patient treatment plans and provide return-visit dates to the Dental Receptionist for scheduling.
Discard disposable items appropriately and clean treatment-room surfaces with disinfectant.
Process instruments in an ultrasonic cleaner, package them for sterilization, operate the sterilization unit according to manufacturer directions, and store instruments and trays appropriately.
Comply with OSHA regulations and recommendations.
Perform other tasks assigned by the dentist and assist other team members as needed.